Mechanism of the reaction of neutral and anionic N-nucleophiles with α-halocarbonyl compounds

N-Acylalkylation of neutral and anionic N-nucleophiles with α-halocarbonyl compounds was investigated by quantum chemical methods in terms of the density functional theory and by experimental methods for 2,3-dihydroimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-1(10)H-5-one, its N-anion, and simpler model structures. High reactivity of these reagents is determined primarily by stabilization of transition states (TS) by bridge bonds involving halogen or nitrogen atoms rather than by conjugation, as has been commonly accepted. Bridged TS are formed by both the substitution mechanism S _N 2 and the addition-elimination mechanism. α-Haloalkyl-substituted zwitterions, which are potential intermediates of stepwise N-acylalkylation of neutral N-nucleophiles, do not exist in the isolated state, but they are rather efficiently stabilized upon solvation. These zwitterions, as well as analogous O-anions generated from anionic N-nucleophiles, can serve as intermediates of N-acylalkylation, as was demonstrated by localization of the corresponding TS. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1150–1164, June, 2007.